US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE1587

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 001587 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, IZ, NL, NATO 
SUBJECT: DUTCH POSITION ON POSSIBLE NATO ROLE IN IRAQ 
 
REF: A. BRADTKE-RUSSEL/DECKER/HILLAS EMAIL 06/23/04 
 
     B. USNATO 602 
 
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION DANIEL R. RUSSEL F 
OR REASONS 1.5 (B AND D) 
 
(C) DCM met with Dutch MFA Deputy Political Director Herman 
Schaper on June 24 to discuss Dutch views on a possible NATO 
role in Iraq further to refs A and B.  To provide context, 
Schaper said that when FM Bot had taken over from Jaap de 
Hoop Scheffer in January he had been inclined towards caution 
concerning NATO involvement in Iraq.  Nevertheless, the Dutch 
PermRep to NATO had continued to express this caution "a bit 
longer than necessary," and that while he initially done so 
on instructions, he was not doing so now.  Schaper said the 
GONL had no problem with the current text for a political 
statement on Iraq as proposed by NATO SYG.  He noted that FM 
Bot had told Parliament on June 22 that he was trying to get 
France and Germany more involved in Iraq through NATO. 
Concerning training, Schaper termed the present proposal "a 
good one," observing that the Netherlands' exit strategy for 
its own deployment in Iraq was based on developing adequate 
Iraqi security forces.  He said this goal had also been 
discussed in the EU context.  He did express caution about 
pursuing "unreachable objectives" like deploying the ARRC to 
Iraq.  Schaper was amenable to the idea of tasking the NAC to 
develop options for future NATO roles in Iraq.  Overall, 
Schaper acknowledged there had been a danger of 
miscommunication about the Dutch position on NATO's role in 
Iraq and said that "it was being taken care of." 
SOBEL